2026 Women's NCAA Division I Championship: Day 4 Finals Live Recap----------
24.5 Yard Pool Last Chance Meet:
"Did Cal just sneak into 4th in the team race???!"
I miss the ISL (go dawgs):
"Cal beating Tennessee even with the relay DQ. Wow!
Most exciting team race in years"
jess:
"Wow that race for 4-5-6 within just a few points! Incredible for cal to squeak in after that dq!"
Bobthebuilderrocks:
"(Alex) Shackell next to Cal on the podium is hilarious"
Go Bucky:
"Cal was super impressive and so many underclassmen! IIRC combining under Durden was a temporary solution at first, but are they just staying combined?"
Swimrats:
"Dave Durden is a bad man… I love him"
SwimmerTX:
" So proud of the Bears. They're officially back!!!"
IRO:
"I'm happy for the Cal women. It was sad to watch what happened to that program and hear about what happened to some former swimmers. They're clearly on the upswing again and in good hands."
Spieker Pool Lap Swimmer:
"I've been following Cal swimming for well over 20 years now and
this year's women's team gelled like none I can remember. It's hard to tell which came first: the fast swimming or the happiness. But one definitely leads to the other. Very very excited for the future of the team since we know that NCAA performance and recruiting go hand in hand.I want to particularly mention Abby Herscu who committed to Cal as part of McKeever's tiny last recruiting class of like three swimmers. I hope she's glad she stayed.
Go Bears!"
lil_swimma:
"Can't wait to see what Cal looks like in 2 years"
Former Cal Student:
"I wouldn't say breaststroke (is an issue for Cal). They didn't have their best at this meet, but Elle Scott and Silje Slyngstadli have PBs that scored in the 100. I believe Cal is also bringing in the Estonian breaststroker, who probably slots in at a really similar time in that 58 low/mid range based on SCM/LCM times being right about where Scottt and Slyngstadli are right now I'd wager to believe that with 3 of them in that range that Cal can figure out how one of them can split a 26.0/57.5 in a medley relay"
sushilover5:
"Predicting it now… Cal gets no lower than 2nd place next year"
Former Cal Student:
"This isn't that interesting a prediction. What's more interesting is what Rylee Erisman can do to these relays after a year of collegiate training?"
Cassandra:
"around how many points is 2nd historically? my math feel free to object:
theyre 300 this year + ill add 50 from rylee + 50 for misc (dq/underclassmen improve, better relays w rylee) brings them to 400 which is around where stanford/texas are this year. someone correct me i dont think theyre losing points right? only lilou scored
texas is bringing in a pretty strong class as well so could be tough to move past them. altho theyd need another good performance at ncaas like this year which isnt a given"
wild:
"Curious to see what happens with Stanford next year. They're loosing more scorers than anyone including Bell and Huske, but I imagine they'll still continue to do well."
yuh:
"well stanford will move down quite a bit but Tennessee I think gets a good bit stronger as well so I think the race for 2nd will be a great 3 team race, although looks like Texas doesn't graduate any scorers from their NCAA team so they could continue to hold second
I also don't really see UVA not winning next year either.. which Is crazy to say"
lilac:
"idk 117 points and pivotal relay contributions without a strong freshman class (Stanford) coming in is a lot plus gigi is also a senior so there goes their 100 flyer"
jess:
"They (Furd) lose 116(?) individual points with huske and bell alone, not to mention relays for the two. Obviously not easy to replace either"
Cassandra:
"yup i think next year they'll (Stanford) drop down to around nc state / louisville. they still have a couple of interesting pieces but they need to step up recruiting particularly of sprinters.
the next class looks like it has four 200 stroke specialists and 1 sprinter. its a bit unbalanced lol"
